PREACHING AND TEACHING V. Teaching A. Introduction Many of the principles used in hermeneutics also apply in teaching. If preaching is to be differentiated from teaching, generally preaching emphasizes persuading the listener to make a decision at that time, whereas teaching emphasizes informing the participant so that he will make better decisions in the future. Teaching is based on a relationship between the teacher and students. We teach people, not lessons. Students who like a teacher are more likely to learn from the teacher than are students who dislike a teacher. Methods of teaching vary according to the age of participants, the size of the group, and the knowledge of the participants. Adults learn better when they participate in discussion. So if there are enough teachers, it is better to teach adults in groups of about twelve people or less. Discussion generally occurs in small groups, whereas lecture works best for large groups. If there are not enough teachers to teach small groups, a teacher can divide the adults into small groups to discuss what was presented to the whole group. As adults mature in faith and Biblical knowledge, more discussion and less lecturing can occur. Lecturing is appropriate for children. Of course, children have shorter attention spans than adults. So activities are needed for children. Teachers may tell them stories. Object lessons are effective for small children. The teacher may show the children some object such as a rod, and explain that shepherds use rods to guide sheep. Then the teacher may explain that God guides us. He may prod us to go in the right direction. When people meet to study the Bible, there should also be fellowship and prayer. So meetings may begin by people sharing their joys and concerns. If the people in the group do not know each other well, a teacher can encourage discussion. A teacher may open a meeting by asking something unrelated to the Bible lesson. Examples of conversation starters areas follows.
Would each of you tell us your name and something about you that we do not know If you could make a dream come true, what would your dream be As participants get to know each other better, it will no longer be necessary to ask these types of conversation starters. Instead, the teacher may simply ask people to share what has happened in the participants lives during the past week. And people may ask for prayer. People in the church should be like a family. When someone is sick, people in the Bible study group should visit the person. If members have needs, participants in the small group are most likely to know about such needs. In order to keep church members active, and
